Two new priests for the Diocese

PATERSON  With great joy, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained two men, Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV and Joseph Anthony Aguila Mactal, as “priests of Jesus Christ” in the Diocese, on May 29 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here during a Mass of the Rite of Ordination, steeped in the traditions of the early Church.

During the 10:30 a.m. ordination Mass on a grey and rainy day, the light of Christ shone brightly in the cathedral as Bishop Sweeney ordained transitional deacons Lennie, of St. Pius X Parish in Montville, and Mactal, a native of the Philip­pines, of St. Thomas the Apostle in Oak Ridge/St. John Vianney in Stock­holm. At the end of the Mass, he announced where the two new priests would be serving their first assignments as diocesan priests: Father Lennie, 29, as parochial vicar of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne and Father Mactal, 32, as parochial vicar of St. James of the Marches Parish in Totowa.

“Good morning! We give thanks to God for this most beautiful day for our two brothers, Frank and Joseph, who will be ordained here today in our Cathedral in the presence of family and friends,” said Bishop Sweeney, main celebrant and homilist of the Mass, concelebrated by many priests of the Diocese and beyond and assisted by many deacons and seminarians.

That morning, St. John’s welcomed a wide spectrum of well-wishers — family, friends, priests, and religious of the Diocese, members of the parishes, where the deacons have served, and the faithful of the Diocese — who enjoyed relaxed COVID-19 protocols by the State with no mandate to social distance or wear face masks. Faithful, who were unable to attend, including Father Mactal’s family in the Philippines, watched a livestream of the ordination on the diocesan website at www.rcdop.org. Preston Dibble, diocesan music minister and choir director, led the worship music for the Mass.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney sounded an optimistic tone, noting that these two men begin their priestly ministries this summer at a moment of bright hope for Catholics across New Jersey. The bishops in the Garden State have directed all churches reopen to full capacity for Masses, beginning on Saturday-Sunday, June 5–6, the Feast of Corpus Christi, for the first time since the State mandated the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

“Like the priests in the Class of 2020 you were ordained during the pandemic. You share the mystery of the Lord’s Cross with people who have suffered and are suffering now. But now, there is a light of hope — that things are moving in the right direction,” Bishop Sweeney said.

Also in his homily, Bishop Sweeney reminded the two newest priests that Mary answered “Yes” to God’s plan that led her “from giving birth to Christ to following him to the foot of the Cross.”

“Frank and Joseph, thank you for your ‘Yes.’ Hearing your calls [to priesthood] came from the Mystical Body of Christ that started in your families … and led you to the seminary. You have vocation stories with many twists and turns that brought you to us to serve God and his Church,” Bishop Sweeney said.

In addition, Bishop Sweeney said that, during Jesus’ earthly ministry, he selected certain disciples, the Apostles, to “carry out a public ministry in his name on behalf of mankind to Church,” so “that through them and their successors — the bishops — he might continue to exercise his office as teacher, priest, and shepherd.”

The new priests, the Bishop said, also “exercise Christ’s office of sanctifier” — the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful made perfect being united to the sacrifice of Jesus, which will be offered through their hands in an unbloody way on the altar in union with the faithful. Therefore, he told them, “Understand what you do and imitate what you celebrate.

“Carry out the ministry of Christ, the priest, with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns, but to those of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Sweeney said.

At the end of Mass, Bishop Sweeney thanked the families of the new priests; their parishes; their seminaries, which had representatives at the ordination Mass; and Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli, who was unable to attend, for nurturing their vocations.

Immediately following recessional at the end of the Mass, the new priests returned to the front of St. John’s altar to bless well wishers. They included Coleen Lennie, Father Lennie’s mother, who called the ordination “exciting.”

“It’s been a long eight years [of priestly formation]. I can’t believe it but I also can believe it,” said Coleen Lennie, who told The Beacon that Father Lennie, as a child, used to play “priest” with his younger brother, Raymond. “This was his calling. He is a special kid. I knew that from the moment he was born. He is kind and loving,” she said.

After receiving a blessing from Father Mactal, Gretchen Cariaso, a cousin of his from Florida, told The Beacon that they grew up together in the Philippines.

“We are very proud to have a priest in the family,” said Cariaso, who noted that Father Mactal had been active in his parish in the Philippines, since he was young. “He always felt the call. He will make a good priest, because he is intellectual and reflective — a man of prayer. He is also charismatic, which is what the Church needs,” she said.

Afterward, Father Lennie told The Beacon that he was “excited” to be ordained a priest of the Diocese.

“I’m looking forward to hearing confessions and celebrating Mass,” said Father Lennie, who celebrated his first Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Pius the next day. “Also, now I can be a father figure — a spiritual father — to the people, my spiritual children,” he said.

Also enthusiastic about becoming a priest, Father Mactal told The Beacon, “Now I will be Jesus in the eyes of the people.

“Whatever I do, I want it to reflect Jesus, not be about myself,” said Father Mactal, who celebrated his first Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Thomas the next day. “I’m actually more excited about what happens after my first Eucharist. I want to be doing this for a long time,” he said.